


Just Yesterday

by kawaiisumi



Series: Matsuoka Gou Week 2018 [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Friendship, Gen, Kou's favourite drinks are mojitos and margaritas fight me, Memories, rated for alcohol consumption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawaiisumi/pseuds/kawaiisumi
Summary: It seemed like just yesterday they were just kids trying to make it in the world. And yet, when he looked at her now, she was a grown up who could stand on her own two feet. He was so proud of her.Aka, the one where Sousuke reminisces on his shared childhood with Kou.





	Just Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my second work for Matsuoka Gou week with the theme of "Memories"! It's definitely not as long as yesterday's fic, but there's only so much I can do lol. I hope you enjoy!

**Just Yesterday**  
_Aka, the one where Sousuke reminisce on his shared childhood with Kou._

She was drunk by the time he showed up. The bar was not one Sousuke would frequent on a regular basis. The lights were a soft incandescent, twinkling fairy lights lining the ceiling with a mystic like quality. There weren’t many people in yet, considering how early in the evening it was. Yet, it wouldn't shock him to meet Kou at this time, who was almost always absolutely hammered on mojitos by 7pm on Fridays.

“Ah, Sousuke-kun, you’re here!” Kou cooed, jumping from her seat at the bar. She nearly toppled over the stool, and he was quick to catch her.

“Started without me, I see,” Sousuke mused, raising an eyebrow at her.

Kou frowned, pushing away from him. “You took too long.”

He glanced at the bartender, who was desperately trying not to make eye contact with Kou again. “How long have you been here?” Sousuke asked, ushering Kou back to her seat and sliding in beside her.

“Since 6:30,” Kou sighed, tossing back the remaining liquid in her glass. “God!” She exclaimed, scrunching her eyes tightly. “Work has been killing me lately! No one ever asks the massage therapist if she needs a massage, it’s always give, give, give.”

Sousuke chuckled, propping an elbow on the table to watch her. Her cheeks were bright, flushed rosy and tickled pink from white rum. “You love the job though,” He reminded her, watching the horrified waiter’s face contort when Kou waved him over again.

“I guess so, someone has to take care of athlete’s muscles,” Kou pouted. She shook her empty glass at the bartender, who immediately took it upon himself to make her another. “What are you getting? Don’t tell me you still order old fashioned.”

Sousuke smirked at her with a simple roll of his eye. “And so what if I do?”

Kou laughed without reservation, as she often did when she was intoxicated. Sousuke liked it though. It seemed free of inhibition, like the thundering rumble of the warlord’s daughter she was named after. When the bartender dropped off both of their drinks, the atmosphere became quiet, as they both sipped.

“Can you believe how much has changed?”

Sousuke’s eyes perked up, looking to her. Kou had this nostalgic look in her eye, stirring her mojito with the straw provided, before completely ignoring it and taking a sip straight from the glass. “What do you mean?” He asked curiously.

“Think about it, this time five years ago, you were just getting back into swimming after your surgery. I was just graduating high school. And look where we are now.”

It was true. Things had changed a lot since then. Sousuke remembered being at Kou’s graduation, her head held high with her rambunctious red hair tightly coiled into curls. She’d looked so happy that day.

“Yeah you’re right,” Sousuke marvelled, watching in amusement as she polished off her drink. “It was like just yesterday you were telling me about wanting to grow up and go to middle school.”

Kou stuck out her tongue distastefully. “Oh, but I was so awful back then. I had crooked teeth and didn’t know how to brush my hair properly.” She laughed, sliding her empty glass toward the edge of the counter. “But things were so much simpler back then.”

“You cried a lot back then,” Sousuke said, giving her a gentle nudge.

“Yeah, cause onii-chan was being an ass,” Kou replied, with a roll of her eyes. She tilted backward, leaning back so haphazardly, Sousuke held out an arm behind her, afraid that she might fall. “But you were always there. Every time I think about those times, you were always there.”

When Rin left, Sousuke had been lonely. Yeah, maybe he’d gotten used to Rin going to a new school. Maybe he was used to not seeing Rin at swim club. But him moving to a whole new country had been something he could never have prepared for. His friend was no longer a walk away. If he knocked on the Matsuoka’s front door, Rin wouldn’t be there waiting with the biggest smile on his face.

He remembered those times being hard for Kou too. She had smiled the whole way to the airport. She listened intently as Rin talked about all the fun things he would do. She asked questions about whether he’d be near the beach and if he’d see any kangaroos. But she had always been that way ever since she was young; hiding sadness behind her sparkly ruby eyes and a big bright smile.

He remembered the way she clutched her mother’s hand as they both watched the plane disappear into the sky, Kou tracing its path against the glass window. “He’s going to be okay,” Sousuke had said to her. When she turned to look at him, he saw the swimming pool of tears that had finally surfaced, dripping softly and quietly into the collar of her shirt.

He remembered being absolutely stricken. “O-o-onii-chan will come back for me, right?”

From then on, he made it his personal mission to be the big brother Kou needed. He walked her home every day from school. He helped her with her homework. He consoled her when Rin stopped replying to her letters and stopped answering her calls. He wanted to protect the Kou he remembered, the innocent little girl with the shining smile.

She didn’t need him anymore. She was perfectly fine on her own. Sousuke knew this. The woman sitting beside him in the bar didn’t need anyone else but herself to be happy. She was accomplished, with laugh lines that announced to anyone that she had a beautiful and happy life. “What are you looking at?” Kou asked, waving a hand in front of his face. Her lips curled up in a sneaky grin, “Don’t tell me you’ve already reached your limit after one drink?”

Sousuke scoffed, lifting his glass to clink against hers. “In your dreams.”

Kou rolled her eyes, gently knocking her glass with his in return. “Why do you have that soft look on your face?”

“You know you’re like a sister to me, right?”

Kou laughed, her smile lines creasing fondly, “I’ve known for a long time.”


End file.
